The Seven Guns
by Darth Muad-dib
Summary: A quiet peaceful day is shattered when a band of unusual mercenaries attack’s Raimundo and his friends. Now the monks must discover which of their old enemies hired these merc’s, the reason behind it, and stop their evil plans. plz read & review.
1. The Brash Sixth Gun

Disclaimer;

Disclaimer;

Hi folks, this is your friendly neighborhood Darth Maud-dib here reminding you all that I still do not own Xiaolin Showdown and I did not create it. I would also like to inform you that I categorically deny any accusations suggesting that I had anything to do with that cat exploding. It is my opinion that the cat stuffed the stick of T.N.T up its own butt before attempting to light its own fart.

**Dramatis Personae**

Clay bailey (Dragon of Earth)

Omi (Dragon of Water)

Kimiko Tohomiko (Dragon of Fire)

Raimundo Pedrosa (Dragon of Wind)

Jack Flaherty (The Fox)

Kaname Braddock (The Tyrant)

Kurtz Winchester (The Brash)

Winifred Testarossa (The Brain)

Ada Lebeau (The Proper)

Kashim Tianjin (The Battlebrand)

Gendo Darcia (The Invincible)

**The Seven Guns**

By Darth Maud-dib

"Sir, we've arrived at your destination." A gentleman in a gray suit quickly opened the limo door and bowed his head as a middle aged man of European descent stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"Not quite what I expected." The middle aged man glanced around while buttoning his brown suite jacket and took in the scene before him. Teenagers in school uniforms strolled passed on both sides of the street. Children were running in and out of comic shops or candy stores while older kids entered or exited rowdy arcades. The smell of roasted chicken, baking donuts, and other food's permeated the air. It all made for an interesting sight but what held his attention was the large building in front of him. Modeled after an American diner, this particular restaurant was known for being popular with teenagers from the local high schools.

Adjusting his black tie, the man strode confidently over to the double doors and pushed them open. The restaurant was buzzing with activity as people talked amongst themselves or ate their food. Rosewood tables were positioned on the right side of the room while a mahogany bar and the kitchen were on the left. Rhythmic music rose from a wide stairwell next to the bar that led to a basement level. A small arcade could be seen in the back while a spiral staircase reached up to a large balcony that over looked the main portion of the restaurant.

"Good evening sir and welcome to Serenity." A seventeen year old girl with a French accent walked over to him and bowed politely. She had short blond hair and wore a short burgundy dress with black stockings and shoes. "If you would please follow me." With a polite smile the girl turned and led him up the spiral staircase to the balcony where he saw two couches placed on either side of an ivory coffee table. A flat screen television hung on the side wall while three comfortable looking chairs sat against the opposite wall. "Your guest, sir."

"Thank you Ada," the young man replied as the girl stepped over to his side, behind a hand carved mahogany desk. The man was dressed in an expensive looking white shirt with a black vest and dark blue tie. His white hair was slicked back while his cold eyes conveyed a sense of confidence that was usually found in men twice his age. "Have a seat."

"So you are the Gendo Darcia I've heard so much about." The middle aged man smiled and took the seat opposite of the eighteen year old man. "I expected a man of your reputation to be a bit… older."

"Appearances can deceive my friend. As you've undoubtedly gleamed from my reputation, my associates and I can handle any job provided the price is worth our time."

"The first installment has already been transferred into your account and the second shall follow once your task in done."

Gendo leaned back in his chair and smiled. "You have not yet told me what this job is, nor have you bothered to mention your name."

"Some things are better not said over the internet. I am Mikos, and there is a temple outside of this city that is home to four monks. I want them removed from my path."

"We are not petty thugs. If all you want is a hit, then you are wasting my time." Gendo narrowed his eyes and glared at him.

"I do not want you to kill them. I only need them brought to me; also these monks have certain items that have a great deal of value." Mikos smiled, remembering the last time he witnessed the powers of the monks.

"This job of yours seems simple enough," Gendo replied after a moment. "You shall have your monks in a few days."

"Excellent, I'll be in touch." Mikos laughed coldly as he stood and started towards the stairs. _Soon I shall be back on the path to unimaginable glory as is the birthright of all in my family._

(-)

A cool breeze blew over the Xiaolin temple causing a few puffy white clouds to drift lazily over the afternoon sun. Raimundo stood next to Kimiko and Master Fung while Omi struggled to capture his allusive pray.

"I have you now, Lasso Boa Boa." Omi grinned as he twirled the Wu over his head then flung it forward to ensnare the tattered training dummy a few feet away. The lasso coiled around the dummy's neck but when Omi went to pull it back, he put to much force into the motion and snapped the head clean off. A burst of laughter erupted from Raimundo Kimiko as they saw the shocked look on Omi's face while the dummy's head crashed into his forehead.

"Way to use the old brain pan Omi," Raimundo laughed.

"That was not my fault. I was blinded by the sun and the wind threw off my aim." Omi shook his head angrily. "Clearly this Wu is defective."

"No need ta get sore jus' 'cause you're no good with a rope." Clay smiled down at the annoyed monk.

"You did not do any better using the Sword of the Storm," Omi retorted as he walked over towards Master Fung.

"He's got a point," Kimiko said plainly before taking a few steps forward. "You did blow two training dummies into orbit."

"Ain't my fault that Wu don' have any control," Clay stated. "I hardly see the point of this exercise anyway."

"The _point_ is that you have all become too comfortable with your customary Shen Gong Wu," Master Fung explained calmly. "Although mastering Shen Gong Wu that are complementary with your elements is necessary to your training, you must also learn to use ones that are unfamiliar to you."

"I see, but how can we expect Kimiko to wield my Wu?" Omi looked from Master Fung to Kimiko. She is just a girl and according to my ancient guide to females, she…"

"I'm gonna string you up by your ankles and use your head as a piñata if you finish that sentence." Kimiko stormed over towards Omi and stared down menacingly at him. "And didn't I burn that book of yours?"

"You did indeed but fortunately I have another."

"You know I'm gonna find it and burn it right?"

"You may try."

"Anyway, prepare to be impressed boys. Orb of Tornami." Kimiko aimed the Wu at the headless dummy but her only response was a small stream of water and the laughter of Clay and Raimundo. "Oh come on; why won't this thing work?" Growling angrily, she began to shake the Wu around before holding it up to eye level.

"Um, if Elmer Fudd has taught me anything, it's that you probably shouldn't hold that near your face." Raimundo started forward but an angry look from Kimiko stopped him in mid step.

"Shut up Rai." Kimiko returned her attention back to the Wu only to get blasted by a large stream of water.

"See?" Omi asked with a laugh.

"See what? Huh, what do you see Omi?" Kimiko stormed back towards him and shoved the orb into his hands.

"I was merely pointing out how that could have happened to anyone," Omi replied with a nervous laugh.

Raimundo shrugged then flashed a cocky smile as he held up the Star Hanabi. "My turn."

"You think you can do better than we did?" Kimiko asked.

"I know I can."

"Okay, then hit me with your best shot." Kimiko grinned devilishly before taking a step back.

"You're on girl."

"Come on partner. I don' see this ending well." Clay quickly led Omi over towards Master Fung.

"Star Hanabi." Raimundo activated the Wu hoping to launch a fireball right passed her head, but to his surprise a large wave of fire shot forward and swallowed Kimiko. A sense of worry shot through him as he quickly deactivated the Wu and raced towards Kimiko. "Kimiko!"

"Relax." The flames quickly dissipated to reveal a smiling Kimiko. "Dragon of Fire, remember? Fire doesn't really hurt me."

"I, I knew that," Raimundo stated quickly and let out a sigh of relief.

"So cute when you worry." Kimiko winked as she adjusted her hair. "And thanks for drying me off."

"I see that there is still much that we must work on, but for now let us take a break and see what Dojo has prepared for lunch." Master Fung motioned for the others to follow and headed towards the kitchen.

"Lunch, my favorite kind of trainin'." Clay licked his lips.

"I thought dinner was your favorite kind of training?" Raimundo asked with a grin. Slipping the Star Hanabi into his pocket, Raimundo turned to follow master Fung but stopped when he saw a tall young man, maybe seventeen years old, standing on the courtyard wall. "Were we expecting company?"

"This'll be easier than I thought if all I gotta do is take out you four wimps." The man on the wall spoke with a German accent and had a deep scar over his left eye. He was dressed in all black with wild short black hair. "Why don't you make this easy and hand over those Shen Ging Pu things."

"Who are you?" Clay demanded.

"I am the Sixth Gun of Jindai High, the Brash Kurtz Winchester." Laughing slightly, the man leapt off the wall and landed a few feet away from Clay. "Now fork over those Shen Sing Gu or endure a humiliating defeat!"

"Wow, someone else besides Omi actually says that?" Raimundo mused softly.

"It is you who will suffer the humiliating defeat!" Omi crouched down in a low fighting stance.

"Then come on. All at once or one at a time, I'll take you all on." Kurtz shot forward and nailed Clay with a right hook that sent him tumbling backwards and caused him to drop the Sword of the Storm. He then turned towards Kimiko and threw a roundhouse kick at her but she ducked under the attack only to be caught with a spinning back fist. Maintaining his momentum, Kurtz moved in the direction of Raimundo and flung two quick left jabs, which he blocked easily then ducked under a right hook.

Raimundo smiled as he rose and aimed an uppercut at Kurtz's jaw but to his surprise, Kurtz drove a knee into his gut then hit him with an elbow that caused him to crash into Kimiko. Pushing aside the pain that throbbed in his head, Raimundo slowly rose to one knee and helped Kimiko up. "He's stronger than he looks."

Kimiko rubbed her jaw for a second then glanced over at Raimundo. "Yeah but we can take him."

Raimundo smirked then returned his attention to Kurtz. Omi had just landed a harsh kick and was using his speed to press his advantage. Throwing punch after punch, Omi slowly forced Kurtz back towards the wall then jumped up for a heel kick. Kurtz ducked under the attack and moved forward attempting to put some distance between himself and Omi; however Omi used the wall to spring backward and hit him with a dropkick. Landing lightly on his feet, Omi stood ready to attack as Kurtz fell back onto the grass.

"Judolette Flip, fire." Kimiko rushed forward and flipped over their fallen opponent but as she did she flung two fireballs at him. Kurtz quickly rolled out of the way before scrambling to his feet. Just as he got to his feet, Clay grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him around, and punched him square on the jaw.

"That'll make us even for the sucker punch." Clay stomped his foot onto the ground and a grass fist shot up from under Kurtz and hit him on the chest.

"Orb of Tornami, ice." Omi held up his favored Wu and shot an ice sickle at the staggering warrior.

Picking up the Sword of the Storm, Raimundo stepped over to where Kurtz had fallen. "You ready to give up or should we keep beating on you?"

"Those weapons of yours pack a punch, but this ain't over yet." Kurtz slowly rolled to a kneeling position and glared at the four monks who now circled around him. Springing forward, he flung a fist full of dirt at Kimiko and Omi then quickly drove an elbow into Clay's temple. Raimundo tried to use the sword to blow him back but Kurtz grabbed the hilt, punched him in the ribs, and knocked the Wu loose before kneeing him again. "You can bet we'll meet again and when we do I'll be sure to beat all of you."

Recovering from blow to the ribs, Raimundo looked up in time to see Kurtz sprint to the wall and leap over. Pushing aside the pain in is stomach; Raimundo glanced over at his friends. "You guys okay?"

"I'll be fine." Kimiko nodded while rubbing her eyes. "Who was that guy?"

"Looks like we can add another name to the list of deranged psycho's after our Wu," Clay stated.

"Like we need another one of those." Raimundo replied dryly.

(-)

Pushing open one of the door's to Serenity, Kurtz quickly made his way through the main room and headed up to the balcony. Once he reached the top he spotted Gendo sitting behind his desk eating a large strawberry sundae with Ada standing to his right.

"Back so soon?"

Kurtz turned towards the direction of smooth voice and noticed a young man with short brown hair lying on one of the couches. He was wearing black boots, black pants, and a custom made brown tunic with long baggy sleeves. "Shut up Fox."

"Oh why so serious?" Fox opened one of his eyes and grinned.

"Since I don't see four monks I'll assume you failed." Gendo sat the spoon in the bowl and leaned back in his chair.

"There were four of 'em and they had magical weapons and…"

"And the Brash One rushed in without observing the situation first," Fox interrupted with a laugh.

"Shut up Fox," Kurtz spat over his shoulder then looked back at Gendo. "I'm telling you boss, they weren't ordinary monks."

"Interesting, from what our client told me I figured these monks to be an easy target, but if they managed to defeat you they must have some skill." Gendo paused for a moment to swallow a spoonful of ice cream.

"I wasn't defeated; I was just caught off guard. Next time I'll take 'em all out for sure." Kurtz clapped his fist into his hand.

"You'll have your chance but I think it best if we proceed more cautiously." Gendo turned to face Ada. "Take Fox and Kurtz and return to the temple. I'm sure you'll be able to ascertain the information our client neglected to mention."

"As you wish, sir." Ada nodded her head then started towards the stairs.

Fox rolled off the couch with a sigh and followed Ada down the staircase. "What do you wanna do after we're done with this?"

"Let's hit up the arcade," Kurtz replied. "I heard one of those punks from Garracyama High is tryin' to beat my score on Pac-man."

"Whatever."

(-)

The sun had just finished setting by the time Kurtz and his compatriots reached the outer doors of the Xiaolin temple. A cool breeze blew over them as Kurtz tried to listen for any signs that they had been noticed. "Time to crack some skulls."

Kurtz started to kick the door open but was stopped by Ada. "Wait. Charging in blindly will not help us achieve our objective."

"My only objective is to pommel them monks 'til they cry uncle." Kurtz clenched his fist.

"Pommel _those_ monks," Ada corrected. "You will still have your chance but before you rush in, allow Fox and I a few minutes."

"So you got a plan."

"The lady always has a plan Brash Boy and I know what it is," Fox stated with a laugh. "So just wait a couple minutes then kick in the door."

"You got it," Kurtz agreed.

"After you Ms. Lebeau." Fox stepped aside to let her pass.

Ada let a slight smile slip through her usual cold demeanor as she started down the wall. "Thank you. Now if only Kurtz could learn the proper way to treat a lady."

"He's only doing it so he don't step on a booby trap," Kurtz called after them as they disappeared into the darkness. As the minutes slowly passed by Kurtz began cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Figuring that he had waited long enough, he charged forward and thrust kicked the large wooden door open before storming inside. "Alright you rotten lousy little monks, get out here so I can give you the beatings I promised!" Kurtz smiled, expecting to see the monks charge out to meet him but the only one in front of him was a tiny green dragon who was staring bug-eyed at him with a coffee mug.

"Um, Omi I think it's for you." The dragon dropped his mug just as Omi stepped into view and dived into his robe.

"Prepare to be defeated again." Omi rushed towards Kurtz.

"Not this time pal." Kurtz met his advance with a swift kick only to have it parried. Omi retaliated with four quick punches, all of which he managed to block but a kick to the gut managed to slip in. As Kurtz stumbled back, Omi jumped up and threw a punch aimed at his jaw. Seeing the attack coming, Kurtz blocked the blow and countered with a harsh uppercut. Not giving Omi a chance to recover, he grabbed him by the sides of his head and drove a knee into the young monks face. A sense of satisfaction rushed through him as he looked down at Omi. "No one can withstand the overwhelming power of the Brash Sixth Gun."

"This fight ain' over yet."

Kurtz turned towards the sound of the voice just in time to see Clay hurl a large fist into his cheek. A sharp pain shot through Kurtz as he fell back and rolled to his feet. "You're gonna pay for the cheap shot."

"I reckon we're 'bout even for earlier." Clay tipped his hat while another monk came running into view. "Stay out of this Rai, I got me a score ta settle with this underhanded varmint."

Kurtz shot forward and ducked under a punch from Clay only to have his own fist block. Keeping his momentum, Kurtz spun and threw a back fist followed by a string of jabs or hooks. He managed to score a couple of good shots but to his surprise, Clay stood his ground and retaliated with a right left combo followed by a clothesline. Shaking off the jabs, Kurtz barely ducked under the clothesline before subsequently hitting Clay with a back elbow. A smile of satisfaction spread across his face as he turned to see Clay falling forwards, however his smile instantly faded when Clay caught himself with his hands and mule kicked him on the chest.

Clay spun around and drove his right fist into the ground while Kurtz struggled to regain his breath. "Fist of the Terrain Soil." Clay pulled his hand out of the dirt to reveal a massive fist made of grass and dirt. A wave of distress washed over Kurtz but before he had time to react, Clay bounded over and struck with one swift motion. His body felt like it had just been smashed by a boulder however somehow he managed to stay on his feet only to have Clay grab him by the shirt and drive the oversized fist into his gut. Feeling the air rush out of his lungs, Kurtz tried to pull away from Clay but he held his grip, reached back, and landed one final blow to the head.

The strike sent a fresh wave of pain through his body while Kurtz tumbled backwards and slammed into the temple wall. Slowly, Kurtz used the wall to get back to his feet and spit out a mouth full of dirt as he glared at the three monks. "This ain't over."

"Looks like it is Brash Boy." Kurtz looked up and spotted Fox standing on roof above the monks. "The fat lady's on stage and she's already hummed a few bars."

"Looks like this clown brought a friend." Raimundo moved forward to get a better view of Fox, followed by the other monks.

"Who are you?" Omi asked.

"I might be the son of a millionaire." Fox tucked his hands into his sleeves then flip over the monks and landed lightly on his feet in front of Kurtz. "Or I may be the sprite of Saint Clause reborn."

"Whoever you are you're about to get your butt kicked." Raimundo took up his fighting stance along with Omi.

"I highly doubt that." Fox flashed a smile as he pulled his hands from his sleeves and held up a small silver capsule. "For you should never want for a fox to chase all over the glen."

"What?" Clay stared over at Fox with a blank look."

"It means don't mess with me, I'm more than you can handle." Fox shook his head then threw the capsule into the ground causing it to explode and release a large cloud of smoke. "Tell next time." As the cloud of smoke spread, Fox quickly turned, grabbed Kurtz by the arm, and hauled him over the wall.

Sticking to the shadows, Kurtz ran along side Fox as they made their way around the outer wall. "Aren't we going to finish them?"

"Nope, we're done for the night," Fox called over his shoulder.

"Where's Ada?"

"She's doing her thing. We just gotta pick up something before we go."

"Gotcha." Kurtz grimaced as he glanced back over towards the temple and forced his anger away, thinking about his next encounter with the monks. _I'll be sure to pay you back for this so watch your back cowboy._

(-)

"Wind." With a wave from his hand, Raimundo called a gust of wind and cleared the thick cloud of smoke that surrounded him and his friends. He quickly glanced around hopping to spot the intruders. "Where'd they go?"

"Slippery snake vanished quicker than a pork chop on my Uncle Ned's plate." Clay scratched the back of his head.

Raimundo started to reply but stopped when he heard the sound of running footsteps. He turned around just in time to see Kimiko springing out from around a corner. "Look who decided to join us now that the fight is over."

"Sorry guy's I got held up," Kimiko replied.

"Is it me or do the people that attack us get weirder and weirder?" Dojo asked as he slithered out of Omi's sleeve.

"They do indeed." Omi nodded. "But who exactly are these people?"

"I believe I may know." Master Fung stepped into view and walked over towards Raimundo and the others.

"You know who they are?" Kimiko stared at the old monk in disbelief.

Master Fung nodded. "I did not think much of it when this Kurtz first appeared and was beaten so easily but after seeing his return and observing the ally he brought, I now believe we are dealing with the Seven Guns of Jindai High."

"Who are they?" Raimundo asked.

"I've heard of them." Dojo jumped up on Master Fung's shoulder. "They're a bunch of kids from one of the local schools who enter and win most of the martial arts tournaments around here. Rumor has it they turned mercenary and will take any job for the right price. Makes me wonder who hired them to attack us."

"Five buck's say's it's that no good Jack Spicer," Clay stated.

"If it was Jack then he'd have been here trying to gloat." Raimundo shrugged. "I say we go after these guys and put an end to this now."

"Maybe we should wait until morning." Kimiko looked over at Raimundo.

"Kimiko is right Raimundo," Master Fung agreed. "Rushing off blindly in the dark will only lead to defeat."

"Alright, but tomorrow we go after these guys." Raimundo glanced over to where Fox and Kurtz had escaped and smiled, anticipating the moment when he'd get to see the strength of these Seven Guns.

(A/N)

I have a story coming up that sends the Xiaolin monks to a strange island where they enter a martial arts tournament and compete against 31 other teams. The wining team of the tournament will receive one wish from a being of immense power.

Given the nature of this story, I'm going to need a lot of characters to fill my roster of teams so if you're interested I would love to borrow OC's from my readers and other authors. In each chapter that an OC appears I'll name the author who created him/her and make sure proper credit is given.

I plan to have a great deal of audience participation in this story; so if you want to let me borrow one or more of your OC's just PM or email me the following info; the characters name, alliance (good or evil), age, gender, country of origin/current location, appearance, fighting style/ abilities, and back-story (I may need to slightly alter the back story to fit this story, but I'll try to stay as true to your version as possible.) If I due use your character I'll PM/ e-mail you to let you know.


	2. The Fourth and seventh gun

Disclaimer;

Disclaimer;

The following ad has been approved by the Darth Maud-dib for president committee.

Darth Maud-dib's opponent claims he created Xiaolin Showdown, but he didn't. They claim that he also owns the show and its affiliated characters but he doesn't. Darth Maud-dib did create the Seven Guns. Darth Maud-dib's opponents claim to be evil, but have any of them blown up a planet full of cats? No. Have they ever exterminated a village full of Snarfs? No. If you dream of a world ruled by the world's most evil dictator for life then vote for Darth Maud-dib and remember, a vote for Darth Maud-dib is one more explosive strapped to a cats butt.

**Chapter Two**

**The Forth and Seventh Gun**

The sun shined brightly over the Xiaolin temple and quickly began to burn off the mourning gloom. Slowly pacing from one side of the courtyard to the other, Raimundo kept replaying the previous nights attack in his mind. It wasn't unusual for them to be attacked at the temple; however it was odd that Kurtz would attack them twice only to retreat when his friend could have gotten the jump on them. Raimundo shook his head to clear his thoughts but try as he might he just couldn't shake the nagging feeling that lingered in the back of his mind. "Where is she?"

"Enhance your calm Raimundo. I am sure Kimiko will be here in ten rattles of a feline's tail." Omi sat down on the wooden step next to Dojo.

"I think you mean two shakes of a cat's tail." Clay patted Omi on the back before walking over to Raimundo. "What's buggin' you?"

"I don't know, something in my gut keeps bugging me," Raimundo replied.

"Perhaps you have indigestion." Omi looked over at Raimundo. "I have read that acid reflux can be most uncomfortable."

"Uh, that's not what I meant." Raimundo turned back to face Clay. "I'll go see what's keeping her." He then quickly made his way back inside the temple and headed for the kitchen figuring that she was still eating. Finding the kitchen empty, Raimundo decided to check her room. Walking briskly down the hallway, he rounded a corner and continued on his way, passing by the library. After a few steps he stopped, realizing that he had seen someone sitting inside and quickly backed up to find Kimiko hunched over the desk reading the ancient scroll of Shen Gong Wu. "There you are."

"Raimundo, you startled me." Kimiko turned and smiled warmly.

"We got any new Wu activity."

"No, I was just looking through all this to see if I could find anything about the Seven Guns and figured I'd check to see if they were mentioned with any of the Wu."

"Yeah well we're all waiting for you."

"Sorry." Kimiko quickly closed the scroll then followed him out.

"I'm surprised that you didn't change into your street clothes." Raimundo looked over at her as they made their way back to the courtyard. "You usually don't wear your robes out."

"What, you don't like the way these look on me?" Kimiko leaned in close to him and smiled demurely.

Raimundo felt his face redden. "Um… no you look fine."

"Besides we're just going to kick those seven guys butt so why get a perfectly good outfit dirty?"

"Fair enough," Raimundo replied as they stepped out into the courtyard.

"Alright let's get this show on the road." Dojo slithered into the center of the courtyard and grew to his full size. Raimundo and the others climbed onto his back a moment before Dojo flew high into the air, leaving the temple behind and headed towards the city. They had been flying for about ten minutes when Dojo began to shake violently.

"What is the matter Dojo?" Omi leaned forward.

"We're gonna have ta hold off on finding the Seven Guns. I think a Wu just activated," Dojo replied in a voice much higher than usual. "And it's close."

Raimundo couldn't help but laugh at the pitch of the dragons' voice. "You sound like Mickey Mouse doing an impression of Alvin and the Chipmunks."

"Tain't no reason to poke fun of him just 'cause my sister's got a deeper voice than he does," Clay laughed.

"Please return your snide comments to their full shut up position." Dojo trembled again then changed direction. "We gotta find this one fast; before it ruins my lovely singing voice."

"You mean it gets worse?" Raimundo snickered.

(-)

The cerulean tiled halls of Jindai High swarmed with activity as students started to make their way to class. Lockers clanged loudly as they were slammed shut while the squeak of sneakers told anyone willing to listen who was running late. Instead of the usual black, white and blue of the school uniform; the students were allowed to wear their own clothing every other Friday. Haphazardly making his way down the cool hall, Fox watched as the last of the students rushed for class just as the bell rang. Eventually reaching the room he was looking for, he opened the door to the technology club and stepped inside.

The room was relatively small with half a dozen work benches filled with computer components, tools, monitors, and other item's one might expect to find. Hunched over one of the tables was a short, slender sixteen year old Italian girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. She wore an elaborate blue and pink sundress with brown sandals and multiple silver bracelets on each arm. Hearing the door close, she looked up and smiled warmly. "Shouldn't you be in math class?"

"Fred, you know math plus Fox divided by an interesting client equals X." Fox walked over and sat on the metal stole opposite of her. "X of course being equal to the sum of my boredom times my curiosity in your latest project."

"It's just about done." Fred set down her soldering iron, picked up a small screwdriver, and started to place the panel onto the small donut size device she was working on. "Using the info you gave me and the data I pull from the sensor I implanted in Kurtz, it was a simple matter to design a tracking device capable of honing in on the frequency of those Shen Gong Wu."

"That should make our job easier."

Fred finished screwing on the panel and flipped the tracker over to reveal a round LCD screen. She pressed a small red button on side causing it to beep to life. The screen flashed for a few moments then displayed a base image of the area. "This bullet in the center represents our location." Fred leaned forward to show him while she adjusted a green knob at the bottom of the device. The image widened into a map of the city and a blinking target appeared just outside of the city.

"What's that?"

"That appears to be a Shen Gong Wu."

"Really? Well we were supposed to collect them eventually so we might as well take the opportunity to test your little toy."

"What about school? We can't just cut class."

Fox smiled and leaned in closer Fred. "First off, we both have four point three GPA's and neither of us has to try, so I think you can afford to miss a day. Secondly, we're not cutting class; we're taking a mental health day. Besides, to live is a great adventure."

Fred held his gaze for a moment the quickly looked away before smiling. "Alright I'll go." Rising from her stool, she reached under the table and pulled out her custom made brown backpack. Slipping the thin straps over her shoulders and buckling another strap around her waist, she pushed a small button on the buckle causing the pack to shrink and contort until it appeared as if it were a part of her dress.

"Lead the way Brain." Fox waited until Fred had grabbed the tracker then followed her out. They swiftly made their way through the cool empty halls and exited the school. Stopping a cab, they climbed in and followed the signal out to the edge of the city before leaving the cab behind.

Fox quickly paid the cabby then followed Fred down a narrow ally until they emerged in a large dirt lot with a couple of construction vehicles sitting in it. A half finished building sat on the opposite side of the lot while large piles of rocks or dirt were scattered all around. "So where's it at?"

Fred tucked the tracker into her pocket then glanced around. "It should be around here, so start looking."

Fox started towards the building when he noticed a shadow zip across the ground. "I think we have company." He looked up and watched the four monks ride a large lizard and land on the ground in front of the building.

"Not so fast whoever you are." Omi hopped off the dragons back followed by the other monks. "We will not allow you to take the Wu."

"Besides we owe you for last night," Raimundo added.

"These the guys that beat up Kurtz?" Fred looked over the four monks.

"Yep." Fox tucked his hand into his sleeve.

"Maybe this time 'round you guys'll be more of a challenge." Clay tipped his hat and cracked his knuckles.

"Was that a challenge?" Fox cocked his head with a grin. "'Cause we dismiss your challenge because you are no challenge."

"Did you just use a line from Rocky?" Raimundo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You'll have to excuse Fox; he has a habit of speaking in riddles and obscure movie quotes." Fred took a step forward. "But I'll be happy to pay you all back for what you did to Kurtz."

"And you are?" Raimundo took up a fighting stance.

"I'm the Seventh Gun of Jindai High. The Brain, Winifred Testarossa." Four metallic silver tentacles extended from her backpack then shot over towards the monks and struck them on the chest. Before they had time to recover, Fred grabbed Clay and Kimiko by their ankles and flung them across the lot. She then began to use her arms to swat or stab at the last two, forcing them back.

"Now I know how Spider-man must have felt." Raimundo ducked under high a attack then flipped back to avoid a low one.

"She is a must peculiar opponent but she is no match for my superior skill." Omi jumped back onto a construction truck near Raimundo. Ducking under another attack Omi jumped off the truck and sprinted around to the left while Raimundo ran to the right. Fred's attacks began to slow as the monks divided her attention and started to weave their way towards her. Ceasing her assault, Fred hastily used two tentacles to grab a hold of the truck across from her and slingshot herself on top of it.

"Did you expect such an antiquated tactic to work on someone with a twelfth level intellect?" Fred turned around to face them but as she did a chrome riffle attached to a small metal arm popped out of her backpack and flipped over her shoulder. Grabbing hold of her newest weapon, she quickly began to fire rounds of lasers and forced her opponents to flip or roll to avoid getting blasted.

"This may be easier than I thought it was going to be." Fox let out a sigh of disappointment but a sound to his right caught his attention and caused him to glance over to find Clay striding towards him. "Care to watch the fight with me?"

"Sorry pal but this ain't no spectators sport." Clay pounced forward and launched a barrage of strikes. While keeping his hands tucked into his sleeves, Fox began swaying back and forth to avoid the cowboy's attacks or ducked under them.

_Not overly fast is he?_ Fox noted mentally as he continued to avoid Clay's attack. _But then he's not too serious yet. Let's see if I can rile him up a tad._ "Come on rawhide. Let's see some of those moves you used to beat the Brash One." Again, Fox ducked under a punch however as he did he swept the legs out from under Clay.

"Why don't you quit talking and fight already?"

Fox looked over only to catch a kick from Kimiko on the face. A wave of annoyance crept over him as he glared at the female monk. "Why'd you kick me? That hurt, well more like stings, but still; do I go around kicking you in the face?"

"I just figured that was best way to shut you up." Kimiko smirked then threw a swift punch forcing Fox to roll to avoid it.

"Seismic Kick, earth."

Fox rolled to his feet just as Clay kicked one of the trucks at him. _He may be stronger than I thought._ With a grin, Fox sprinted towards the truck, jumped, then used it to springboard high and back. As he flipped through the air he pulled his hands out of his sleeves and flung two capsules. The first one hit the truck and spilled acid over the top, melting it quickly while the second one burst at Clay's feet, gluing him in place.

Sailing backwards through the air, Fox saw Kimiko helping Clay. To his right he was surprised to find Fred being pushed back by a string of kicks from Omi. The only thing that was protecting her from being hurt was her personal force field. After getting knocked over she tried to climb to her feet only to get knocked over by Raimundo. Fox landed lightly a few feet away from the monks then somersaulted over and heel kicked each of them. Seeing that his kick had caught them by surprise, he grabbed Fred and promptly jumped onto another truck with her in tow. Fred hastily fired two more lasers at the monks but they rolled out of the way. The blast hit a pile of rocks causing them to explode but as the dust settled, Fox noticed a large book with a golden cover sitting where the rock had been.

"That's the Tome of Yesteryear." The dragon popped his head out from behind his hiding place.

"I got it." Kimiko sprinted towards the Wu.

"Afraid not." Fox reached into one of his many hidden pockets and pulled out a red capsule then hurled it in front her. The capsule exploded in a burst of flames forcing the girl to jump back. Not wasting the opportunity, Fred stretched one of her tentacles over and grabbed the book.

"Looks like we win." Fred dropped the book in her hands as her tentacles and riffle retracted into her backpack.

"Surrender the Wu at once," Omi demanded.

"I'd love to stay and play with you guys but we really should get going." Fox slipped another capsule from his sleeve. "But in case I don't see you again; good afternoon, good evening, and good night." With that, Fox tossed the pellet at Raimundo's feet as it burst into a blinding light and slipped away with Fred back down the ally.

(-)

"These gun guy's are startin' to work my last nerve," Clay stated, clearly frustrated.

"That makes two of us." Raimundo blinked his eyes repeatedly as his vision began to clear. Finally able to see again, Raimundo turned to face Kimiko. "Why didn't you grab the Wu when you had the chance?"

"Sorry guys. That wall of flames just caught me by surprise." Kimiko held Raimundo's gaze for a moment then looked away.

"Surprise? How could you…" Raimundo started but a hand from Clay stopped him in mid sentence.

"Don't go blaming her. That Fox fella caught us all off balance."

"He's right." Dojo slithered over and grew to his larger form. "Maybe we should head back to the temple and figure out our next move."

"Maybe you're right." Raimundo nodded and took a deep breath, trying to expel his frustration. He jumped onto Dojo's back after Omi and the others then watched while the ground quickly began to shrink as they flew back home in silence.

The warm air felt cool against his face as Raimundo tossed the last of his frustration to the wind, but no matter how much he tried, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. After about ten minutes, he felt Dojo start to descend and looked up to find the temple rapidly approaching.

"I have been thinking," Omi started. "We are constantly found with our trousers not raised properly by the Seven Guns because of our lack of knowledge about our opponents."

"It's caught with our pants down," Kimiko corrected with and annoyed tone.

"He's got a point," Clay agreed just as they landed and Dojo reverted back to normal. "We really don' know much 'bout 'em."

"That is why I suggest we slap the books and see if we may enlighten ourselves." Omi glanced at each of them.

"Hit, it's hit the books. Is it so hard to say it properly?" Kimiko glared at Omi for a long moment then quickly smiled and patted him on the head. "Sorry, I'm just a little upset about letting Fox and Fred escape."

"Let's just focus on digging up some info on the Guns. The sooner we get rid of them the better." Raimundo held his gaze on her for a few minutes before leading everyone inside.

"Why don't you guy's get started on the research while I go and make us some tea," Kimiko said.

"Tea?" Raimundo quickly looked over his shoulder as a wave of surprise caused him to almost trip. "Since when do you make us tea?"

"Consider it my way of making it up to you guys for messing up earlier." Kimiko smiled warmly.

"We really could use your computer skills to track them seven guys down over the net." Clay tipped his hat up.

"I'm sure Raimundo can get you started on a simple web search. I left my laptop in the library, so you can go ahead."

Omi nodded his agreement. "Very well, we shall start the research while Kimiko makes us some delicious tea. I am most anxious to try some of her tea but I am certain that it will be good because she is a girl, and we all know that girls are naturally good at making and serving tea."

"Thanks, I'll make it extra sweet just for you." Kimiko again smiled then turned and headed back down the hall.

"That was weird." Raimundo looked over to Clay.

"It's been kinda a long morning." Clay shrugged then continued to the library.

Raimundo followed Clay and Omi down the hall and into the library where he found Kimiko's laptop sitting on the desk. Clay and Omi easily found some of the books Master Fung had said mentioned the Seven Guns and started to flip through them. After a few minutes Raimundo realized that he had just been standing at the desk staring at Kimiko's laptop. "You guys get started without me. I'm going to check on Kimiko."

Not waiting for their reply, he speedily worked his way through the hallways until he reached the kitchen only to find it empty. An edge of concern began to weave its way through him as he started wandering through the temple in search of Kimiko. After ten minutes of searching he began to wonder if he was just being paranoid and let out a deep breath. _She probably went back to the library._ Following the corridors, Raimundo passed by his room and noticed someone inside. Quietly stepping over to the doorway, he peeked inside and found Kimiko digging through his stuff. "What are you doing?"

Clearly surprised, Kimiko looked over at him with the Holy Chi Glove in her hand. "Raimundo, you scared me."

"I tend to sneak up on people rifling through my things." Raimundo stepped into the room. "So what are you doing in here?"

"You're missing the other glove." Kimiko smiled then tossed the Wu aside. "I was hoping you had a Shen Gong Wu in here that we could use to help find the Guns."

"Like using the Crystal Glasses to look into the future and see where they're gonna strike next?"

"That would work."

Raimundo looked at Kimiko with a raised eyebrow. "Except Alex took it when he raided the temple a while back. You know that."

"You got me." Kimiko looked down at the ground for a second before rolling her eyes up at him and smiled seductively. "I wasn't looking for a Wu. I was waiting for you to find me."

"You… you were?" Raimundo felt his face redden as she inched over to him and leaned in close.

"It's pretty obvious that you have feelings for me and I think it's time I let you know how I felt." Kimiko closed the distance between them and lightly kissed him on the lips. "Why don't you meet me by the weapons shed, somewhere Clay and Omi wont disturb us, and I'll show you how much you mean to me." She kissed him again for a long minute before turning him around and backing towards the door. "See you in ten minutes."

"Definitely." Raimundo stood for a few moments as his mind flashed back to the kiss. An overwhelming sense of joy had rushed through him and still had his heart thumping loudly but even as some emotions returned to normal; one feeling still lingered in the back of his mind.

(-)

Strolling down the familiar halls, Omi made his way towards the kitchen, wondering what had happened to Kimiko and Raimundo. He had just rounded a corner when he spotted Kimiko heading towards him. "I see that I have finally found you Kimiko. Where is Raimundo? I thought he went looking for you?"

"He's watching the tea." Kimiko stepped over to him. "I need to ask for a favor."

"What is it?"

"Come on, I'll explain as we walk." Kimiko motioned for him to follow and subsequently led him through the halls and out into the courtyard. "I'd say it's pretty obvious that you're the best out of all of us and I know you have feelings for me."

"What sort of feelings?" Omi looked up at her, surprised to hear her admit he was the greatest.

"Never mind the feelings." Kimiko shook her head then smiled down at him. "I'm trying to tell you that you really are an impressive warrior and I want you to train me to be more like you."

"Oh yes, it is true; I am truly impressive aren't I, and I am not so easily impressed." Omi grinned proudly as he followed Kimiko. "I will endeavor to teach all of the formable skills I have. Of course you will not be able learn as much as I have due to my superior abilities, but in time you too shall be better than Raimundo."

"You're so cute when you're bragging."

"I know I am." Omi noticed that Kimiko had led him to the Shen Gong Wu vault and stopped by the door. "Why are we here?"

"I wanted you to show me your skills with the Wu." Kimiko flashed an alluring smile.

"I can show you if you want, of course I'm not as _impressive_ as Omi may be."

Omi turned to his right and spotted Raimundo stepping out of the shadows. "We were just talking about you."

"I heard." Raimundo stared intently at Kimiko.

"Raimundo… I thought we were going to meet in a little bit." Kimiko's voice carried a surprised tone. "What are you doing out here?"

"I hear you're looking for a Wu demonstration. Allow me to give you one." Raimundo reached into his pocket and aimed a Shen Gong Wu at Kimiko. "Star Hanabi."

A jolt of confusion shot through Omi as he rolled to his right to avoid the wave of fire that erupted from the Wu. Coming up to his feet he glanced over and saw Kimiko leap back to evade the flames then turned his attention to Raimundo. "Raimundo, What are you doing? You almost burned us."

"That's not Kimiko." Raimundo slipped the Wu back into his pocket.

"What do you mean?" Omi stared at him trying to figure out what was happening.

"I think you must be under some kind of spell," Kimiko claimed in a frantic voice. "It must have come from Fox's capsule."

"Omi, I'm telling you that's not Kimiko." Raimundo clenched his fist.

"She seems normal to me." Omi glanced over at Kimiko. "She's been extremely nice and normal."

"That's the point. She's been too nice. Kimiko has never made us tea, she would never let _me_ use her computer; she gets pissed any time I touch it. She didn't even threaten you when you made the crack about girls and tea." Raimundo looked over at Omi. "And since when would Kimiko need to avoid a wave of fire? She's fire proof remember? You're the one with the tiger instincts, so think real hard and take a good look. Whoever that girl is, she ain't Kimiko."

"Omi, it's me." Kimiko stared at Omi with desperation in her eyes. "You have to believe me."

Omi struggled to push aside his bewilderment and held his gaze on Kimiko. Taking a deep breath, he focused all his senses on her then looked towards Raimundo and did the same. "Imposter." Omi sprang forward and kicked Kimiko on the jaw causing her to fly back a few feet. "What have you done to our Kimiko?"

"I guess my little ruse is over."

"Who the heck are you and where is Kimiko?" Raimundo demanded as a gust of wind began to circle around him.

"You stand before the Proper Ada Lebeau." As she climbed to her feet, her voice picked up a French accent and she morphed into a blonde girl in a burgundy dress. "The Fourth Gun of Jindai High."

"Where is she?" Raimundo shot forward on a gust of wind, ready to strike but Ada threw her fist forward. Her fist rapidly stretched across the distance and caught Raimundo off guard, hitting him square on the nose.

"My, you boy's are forward, but it's rude to rush a lady without asking her permission to dance." Ada sprinted towards Omi. As she closed the distance, her left hand morphed in to mace, which she then tried to use to attack Omi.

Shaking off his shock, Omi rolled under the attack then retaliated with a kick to her ribs. As she staggered forward, Omi swept her legs then tried for a heel kick but she rolled to the left. Turning to her back, Ada shifted her right hand into a large block and used it to smash his foot. A jolt of pain raced through his leg but before he could move his foot, Ada used her mace hand to punch him back.

Omi stumbled to the ground and looked up to see Ada climb to her feet. She quickly changed her two hands into one large hammer and glared down at him. "Adieu, you arrogant imbecile." She raised her arms over her head but just as she started to strike, a gust of wind slammed into her.

"Typhoon Boom." Raimundo zipped over Omi while Ada flew back and slammed against the vault wall. Before she could fall to the ground, Raimundo hit her with a harsh punch to the jaw followed by a left hook and an uppercut. He then grabbed her by the arm and threw her over his shoulder.

Ignoring his foot, Omi reached into his robe and pulled out his signature Wu, then sprang forward and caught Ada with a side kick to the back. "Orb of Tornami." He unleashed a geyser of water at the woman just as she turned to face him. The water knocked her down and back but she quickly rolled to her feet while morphing one of her hands into a large shield.

"I think it's time you gave up and told us where Kimiko is." Raimundo sprinted over and threw a round house at her, forcing her jump back.

"Give, the proper word is give, you _excuse de stupied pour un moine._" Ada glared angrily at Raimundo. "Ms Tohomiko is currently a guest of ours. If you want her back so badly then you can trade your Shen Gong Wu for her."

"Why not force you to take us to her now." Omi held the orb at the ready.

"You really are forward but we'll have to continue our little dance another time." Ada held out her right hand as her index finger stretched and turned into a whip. She swiftly lashed out at Omi, forcing him back then turned and snared Raimundo by the leg before throwing him by Omi. Reverting her hand to normal, Ada sprinted towards the courtyard wall, stretched her hands up to the top and vaulted over.

Omi ran over to Raimundo and helped him back to his feet. "Are you unharmed?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Let's just get Clay and hurry after her before she gets too far ahead."

Omi nodded in agreement then hastily left to find Clay. _Hang on for just a little while longer Kimiko; we are coming to rescue you._


	3. When the Seven Guns Come To Call

Disclaimer;

Once upon time there was a heroic evil doer named Darth Maud-dib, who liked to write stories. He may not have created Xiaolin Showdown and he did not own it, but he did craft the Seven Guns of Jindai High. One day, our benevolent tyrant was nicely attacked by a contemptible noble cat named Cat. Now this mean, nice cat hurt Maud-dib's feelings, so Maud-dib called his trusted sidekick, Darth Mittens the most evil mongoose in the galaxy. Mittens set out to avenge those hurt feelings, (which later we found out were comforted but anyway) Mittens found Cat and the two clashed epically, lazily battling to the death; or nap time, which ever came first. Finally after hours had passed, or minutes, I wasn't really paying attention, Darth Mittens had Cat cornered by a large pit and in his most terrifying polite voice Mittens asked "You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?"

To which Cat replied calmly in a panicked voice "Yeah, for a second I did."

"Too bad, because… this is Sparta!" With terrible fury and great kindness Darth Mittens Spartan kicked the cat into the pit then hurled nine oversized sticks of dynamite after him, one explosive for each life.

The moral of this story is; you _can_ teach an old dog new tricks but you can't teach Ben Stiller to act.

**A/N**

I would like to thank all of you who took the time to leave a review. Only one person bothered to leave a review and I would like him to know that I truly appreciate it. Due to the lack of reviews, this will more than likely be my last story posted and I am canceling my two upcoming stories until such time as the reviews our left for this or any of my stories. Thanks for reading and goodnight everybody.

Chapter Three

**When the Seven Guns Come to Call**

The afternoon sun shined brightly through the windows of Serenity. The first floor slowly began to fill up as students from the area left school and made their way down to the entertainment district. Fox leaned with his back against the bar and quietly looked over the room as he waited for his order to come up. He glanced over to his right just as Kurtz came walking over from the back arcade. "So, how was class?"

"It was great. I gotta write a paper about Pluto… Plato… Popeye or whoever, because _someone_ forgot to let me copy their homework." Kurtz sat down on the stool next to him.

"Oh was that due today?"

"To top it off, I hear you took Brain and went after those monks." Kurtz shook his head as if he were hurt. "How could you leave me behind?"

"Fine, next time I'll take you with us." Fox smiled, but the opening of the front door pulled his attention to a short, plump little man with a bad comb over.

The man quickly stepped over to them and looked at Fox. "Where are Fred and Gendo?"

"Up stairs." Fox pointed to the balcony.

"Whoa, hold on." Kurtz jumped to his feet. "We can't let some fat, chubby… chubby guy walk in and challenge us like this."

"You do realize that's Ada?" Fox laughed.

"Um… yes," Kurtz replied softly then sat back down.

"Chubby, chubby guy?" Ada morphed back to her regular self. "You desperately need to work on developing a vocabulary."

"So how did it go?" Fox asked.

"Those monks are cleverer than I thought. They managed to discover my ruse before I could get the Shen Gong Wu, however I did manage to learn quite a bit about the Wu and some of their enemies." Ada started towards the stairs. "If you'll excuse me, I need to report to Gendo and have Fred send a message for me."

"I imagine that they were annoyed to find we had taken their friend," Fox mused, mostly to himself.

"Speaking of her, why are we letting her sit there like she's a guest?" Kurtz motioned over to the table where Kimiko sat, eating a large cheeseburger. She sat next to a seventeen year old girl with long dyed blue hair. She had an athletic build and wore a tight navy blue blouse, black shorts, and black and blue sneakers.

A waiter walked over and set two milkshakes down on the bar. "Here's your order."

"Thanks." Fox turned and picked them up then looked back at Kurtz. "Relax, Kaname's been watching her; so you don't have to worry about any more of her fiery outbursts or escape attempts."

"That girl tried to burn my eyebrows off!"

"They are rather thick, and I'm sure they'll grow back." Fox laughed then started back to the table with Kimiko and Kaname.

"Shut up Fox."

(-)

"Any sign of her?" Raimundo road a gust of wind and bounced up the side of a building then looked up at Dojo as he floated over the roof. They had spent the last fifty minutes searching for the shape shifting French girl but she had managed to give them the slip.

"No luck." Clay looked down at him. They had decided to split up to cover more ground.

"I have had no luck either." Omi stepped onto the roof from the fire escape.

"Then we'll have to tear apart every high school in the city until we find the one Kimiko is being held in." Raimundo clenched his fist, letting some of his frustration slip into his voice.

"Guys." Dojo flew down to the roof. "Not to change the subject but I'm sensing a new Shen Gong Wu, and it's close by."

"That Ada lady was after the Wu in the vault, so she may go after this one," Clay pointed out.

"Let's go then." Raimundo jumped onto Dojo's back followed by Omi. Dojo started to fly off but suddenly stopped when a foot long burgundy colored pyramid with an olive green saucer around it, flew in front of him. Raimundo glanced up at Clay, who shrugged his shoulders then looked back at the now floating device. "What is that?"

"This is a mobile automated recognizance apparatus or M.A.R.A for short." The machine displayed the holographic image of Fred.

"Winifred, where are you hiding Kimiko and what do you want?" Omi asked from behind Raimundo.

"The first thing I want is for you to not call me Winifred, unless you want me to have M.A.R.A explode on top of that large head of yours." The hologram shifted its view to Clay and Raimundo. "I've located a Shen Gong Wu in a nearby park so if you want Kimiko back then you can meet us there. I'm told that your pet dragon can sense the Wu so you should get there quickly."

Raimundo stared skeptically at the holographic girl. "And you're just gonna give Kimiko back?"

"Of course not," Fred laughed. "We're going to trade her for all of your Wu. We'll be waiting for your reply at the park." The image of Fred shimmered and faded a few seconds before the machine fly away.

"We can't just hand over all the Wu, even if they do have Kimiko," Clay said over his shoulder.

"I know," Raimundo replied.

"But we can not allow Kimiko to remain a hostage." Omi peered around Raimundo.

"We're not." Raimundo looked back at Omi then at Clay and Dojo. "We're gonna go to that park, take the Wu, kick the stuffing out of anyone waiting for us, and force them to tell us where Kimiko is."

"My kinda plan." Clay smirked then looked towards Dojo. "Which way to the Wu."

"Right over here." Dojo hastily flew towards the west end of the city. After few minutes, they passed over a large park with a few metal slides, a couple of teeter-totters and other items usually found in parks. Standing behind the swing sets in center of the soccer field was a tall, muscular, young man wearing a sleeveless gun metal grey jump suit with black highlights and black boots.

"I reckon he's the welcoming committee." Clay adjusted his hat while Dojo circled around and landed ten feet away from the man. As the three monks hopped off of Dojo, Raimundo spotted a red crystal eye behind the man.

"I think I'll you guy's handle this one." Dojo slithered up Clay's side and ducked under his hat.

"Why don't you go ahead and tell us your goof ball name so we can kick the crap out you." Raimundo glared at the sixteen year old.

"My name was given to me by my comrades and is a name I proudly bare as the Fifth Gun of Jindai High. So long as blood flows through my veins I will endeavor to remove any cur who dares to stand in the way of our glory. Anyone that would challenge our youthful sprits will be put down by the strength of my soul and come to know the taste of my blade. If any of you are not cowards then you will soon know the power of my proud fists, a power belonging to the Battlebrand, Kashim Tianjin."

Raimundo stood for a long moment, too dumbfounded to reply. Finally after a long silence he shook off his surprise and started to laugh. "Out of all the guys I've met in the last day, you're the most silliest, annoying one to date."

"Really?" Kashim crossed his arms and tilted his head. "I knew I should have added a bit more about the indomitable sprit of youth."

"I'm kinda findin' it hard to take this one seriously." Clay glanced at Raimundo then to Omi.

"I think this one may be a little crazy in the head." Raimundo smirked.

"I like this one," Omi stated cheerfully.

"You would," Raimundo muttered softly then looked back to Kashim. "Are we gonna fight or are you still ranting."

Kashim snapped his attention back to the monks and took up a basic kung-fu stance. "My apologies; we may begin when you are ready."

"Good, 'cause after we kick your butt, you're going to tell us where Kimiko is." Raimundo started forward; ready to attack, but a laser blast from above force him to jump back.

"Not so fast losers. If anyone is going to take that Wu, it's gonna be me."

"Jack Spicer." Omi turned to his left. Raimundo looked up and found Jack flying over head with a dozen robotic dinosaurs behind him.

"That right, the Jack-o is back-o and this time he brought his evil army of Raptor-bots." Jack snapped his fingers and motioned for his bots to attack. "And the roaring… it's a recording of me." The Raptor-bots hit the ground running and charged towards Raimundo and the others. The first of the bots reached Clay, snapping at his head, but he ducked under the first attack and caught its jaw to avoid getting bit. The rest of the bots rushed passed him while he sidestepped out from under the first one and wrapped his arms around its neck in an attempt to wrestle it to the ground.

Omi darted forward and met the dinos head on while Raimundo waited until one was just about to take a bite out of him then quickly flipped over it. Landing on its back, Raimundo grabbed it by the head, pulled back until he and the bot rolled backwards, and then kicked it into another charging foe just as it shot a laser from its mouth. The laser hit the flying robot causing it to explode.

"I will not tolerate interference in our glorious duel." Kashim sprinted passed Raimundo and kicked one of the dinos in the head with a side kick. As he brought his foot down, he spun around and a large golden axe formed in his hands. Once he came around to the raptor he hit it with his glowing weapon, damaging its neck; then leapt up and drove his axe down splitting its head.

Raimundo ducked or swayed to avoid a raptors attack while watching Kashim battle his way through the horde of bots. Omi had destroyed two of the bots in addition to damaging a third. He had just rolled to the right when another raptor used its tail to slap him across his back. The bot then pounced on top of the young monk, ready to finish him off but Kashim grabbed its tail and yanked it back before cutting off its head.

"Hey, you can't treat my bots like that," Jack whined. "Raptor-bots maul him to shreds."

On Jack's order, five of the dinosaurs turned and lunged at Kashim, forcing him back. His axe faded and was replaced with a broadsword. He tried to counterattack the bots, but every swing of his glowing sword left him open to a hit from a raptor. After a few seconds of getting bounced around, Kashim was tripped by a tail from a bot. Changing his sword into a shield, Kashim barely managed to use it to stop a raptor from gnawing on his face.

"Orb of Tornami, ice." Omi pulled the Wu from his robe and froze two of the bots surrounding the Fifth Gun. He then sprinted over and kicked one of the bots off of Kashim.

Kashim rolled to his feet but as he did, he used his shield to break one of the frozen dino's in half then turned and punched the second, shattering it to pieces. "My thanks; now let us put and end to this superfluous interruption." The shield split in two and changed into twin axes, one in each hand. Moving in a flurry of motion, Kashim and Omi quickly began to battle the bots. One would attack low while the other went high. Omi hit one bot with a jet of water setting it up for Kashim to destroy. They continued to alternate attacks until they had destroyed the last bot near them.

Surprised at how well they had work together, Raimundo returned his attention to his bot. Jumping over its tail, he hit it with an uppercut followed by a kick to its chest before destroying it with his Typhoon boom. Raimundo looked over to where Clay had been fighting and saw the he had destroyed the last of the raptor-bots.

"That didn't go as well as I hopped it would." Jack looked down at his ruined machines then smiled nervously. "So, same time next week?" Not waiting for an answer, Jack hastily turned and flew off.

"He will not stay to avenge the loss of his minions?" Kashim asked.

"Don' nobody turn tail to run faster than Jack Spicer." Clay stepped over to Omi and Kashim.

"I see." Kashim nodded then turned to look over at Omi. "I am grateful for your aid, but I must ask you why? I am your enemy and am holding your friend captive; it would have been better and easier for you to let me fall to those mechanical dinosaurs."

"Perhaps, but I do not sense any evil intentions from you." Omi tucked the orb back into his robe. "Besides, you helped me first, so I repaid the favor."

Kashim laughed and let his weapons fade. "I am glad to see that you are a warrior of honor. Clearly it was fate that led to our meeting; divine providence guiding two kindred souls together to test their strengths and forge new friendships. Destiny pulling us…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm glad you two are buddies but there's still the issue of you holding Kimiko prisoner," Raimundo interrupted.

"You are right, but a much as I deplore such dishonest methods as kidnapping, I am still bound to the mission tasked to me. I however may have a solution that will satisfy all of us." Kashim smiled then walked over to where he had left the Wu, picked it up and stepped back over to Omi. "I was told that if two warriors grab the Wu in unison then a duel is held to decide who may have the Wu."

"You mean a Xiaolin Showdown." Omi looked up at the taller man.

"I do, and I would be honored to challenge you to honorable combat in a showdown." Kashim held the Wu out to allow Omi to touch it. "Although I have no Wu to wager, should I fall I will surrender myself to you and take you all to the location that your friend is being held."

"And how shall we decide the winner?" Omi asked.

"The contest shall be simple. The first to be knocked out of the sparring ring will be the loser."

Omi smiled and reached out to grab the Wu. "I gladly accept your challenge."

The ground beneath them began to rumble then suddenly shot into the sky. The large patch of grass they had been standing on began to stretch or bend until it formed the shape of a diamond. Omi was moved to one corner of the ring while Kashim was moved to the other. They each were the lifted ten feet above the ring and were placed on a slide facing each other. Raimundo found himself on a swing set sitting next to Clay on the side of the ring.

"Truly this is a grand stage for us to test our wills." Kashim looked around, clearly impressed. "How do we begin our magnificent duel?"

"The showdown will begin once we have both said Gong Yi Tanpai," Omi replied.

"Gong Yi Tanpai." Kashim bowed respectfully. Omi returned the bow then both combatants slid down the slide and rushed at each other. They met in the center of the ring and instantly began to trade attacks. They each moved in a flurry of motion, throwing kicks or punches only to have them blocked or countered by the other.

"You know, this wasn't how I expected thing's to work out when we got here." Raimundo looked over to Clay.

"Me nether, but I gotta say that I'm findin' it hard to wanna fight this guy." Clay scratched the back of his head. "He's definitely the odd duck out of the flock."

"So long as he takes us to Kimiko then I'm happy." Raimundo returned his attention to the ring and watched Omi parry an attack with his Shimo Staff. Omi ducked under a roundhouse kick from Kashim then rolled to the right as Kashim spun and tried to chop him in half with a golden axe. Coming up to his feet, Omi used his staff to hit him on the back, pivoted, and struck him in the gut before spinning around and batting Kashim across the ring. Kashim tumbled for a few seconds before finally sliding to a stop on his back.

"Way to go partner," Clay cheered.

Not giving Kashim a chance to recover, Omi sprinted towards him and leapt into the air, swinging his staff downward to finish his opponent. Changing the axe into a round shield, Kashim blocked the attack then kicked Omi back and popped up to his feet. Omi sprang forward just as he landed and attacked but he was again blocked by Kashim in addition to getting tagged with a counter punch. Omi flipped high and back to circumvent a swipe from the glowing shield, landing in a defensive posture. Kashim took the opportunity to attack and hurled his shield at the monk.

Flipping forward, Omi batted the shield down and landed on top of it driving it to the ground. He then twirled his weapon into an attack position and smiled. "You have fought well my friend but with out your weapon you cannot defeat me."

"I may be at a disadvantage unarmed but…" Kashim trailed off and smirked. A second later the golden shield began to flicker violently then suddenly exploded, knocking Omi back near the edge of the ring. "…You fail to realize that my chi weapons become unstable and tend to explode if I'm not in direct contact with them for more than a few seconds." Kashim charged at Omi to press his advantage as he formed another axe. He met Omi with a string of fluid attacks, swinging high to low then alternating to punches and powerful strikes with his axe. Slowly Omi was pushed back, before finally managing to block a downward swing with his staff. Sliding the staff up until it caught the part of the axe that curved; Omi then turned and threw Kashim over him. Kashim recovered quickly from the surprise counter and landed on his feet. He then attempted to yank Omi forward since their weapons were still hooked together but Omi let go of his staff with his right hand, allowing the axe to slide free.

A slight smile spread across Omi's face as hopped up and scored with a drop kick to Kashim's ribs. As the warrior staggered back, Omi sprang frontward. "Monkey Strike." The blow caught Kashim square on the chest and sent him sailing over the edge of the ring. In a bright flash, the ground reverted to its normal shape and returned to it's original location along with the slides and swings.

"Way to go Omi." Raimundo stepped over to the victorious monk, who now held the Wu.

"Thank you Raimundo." Omi tucked the Wu and his staff back into his robe then walked over to Kashim and helped him to his feet.

"You fought well, clearly the fates have shown you favor, but know that I will renew my training so that I can defeat you and avenge this loss." Kashim smiled at the monk. "Count on a rematch my young friend. One in which we will again come to know the great truth that can only be found by two kindred spirits who test their righteous vigor on the holy battlefield. On that…"

"Dude, before you rant your way to crazy town, why don't you tell us where Kimiko is." Raimundo stepped over to him.

"Of course; your friend is being held at Serenity. I shall take you to her this moment." Kashim looked over to Raimundo. "I should warn you that my compatriots may not give her up easily. We were commissioned to acquirer your Shen Gong Wu as well as capturing you if possible."

"We'll just have to be convincing then." Raimundo narrowed his eyes.

"Let's get this show on the street," Omi said.

"Road." Clay took off his hat and pulled Dojo from his hiding place. "Time to go partner."

"Sure thing." Dojo hopped out of his hand and grew to flying size. Waiting until everyone had climbed onto his back; Dojo quickly took off into the air and followed the direction Kashim gave them. After about seven minutes they flew over the entertainment district and landed on the sidewalk across from the Guns main hang out.

"Take a look at all this," Clay whistled as he glanced around at all the restaurants.

"Certainly is popular." Dojo shrank down to normal.

"The most popular part of the city," Kashim pointed out.

"Alright, after we rescue Kimiko we're defiantly going to that arcade." Raimundo glanced around at all of the arcades and resisted the urge to dance. _I'm in heaven. _"So which one is she in?"

"That one." Kashim pointed to Serenity.

Focusing on the task at hand, Raimundo strode across to the restaurant. "Let's do this."

(-)

Fox leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head listening to Kaname and Kimiko's conversion. They were currently talking about some mall downtown where Kimiko had meet some boy. Finding the conversation boring, Fox tried to fall asleep but the unexpected laughter of Kaname would always snap him back to their chat. He was surprised to see Kaname getting along with the monk, but from what he had seen the night he had grabbed her, Kimiko had a temper that might rival Kaname's.

"Then there was the time Rai and I went to the movies. We were having a great time but a couple of jerks ruined our night." Kimiko finished the last of her milkshake.

"You mentioned that Raimundo guy a lot. What, are you two going out or something?" Kaname leaned towards Kimiko nosily.

"No, no we're just friends," Kimiko replied. "What about you, anybody special you're seeing?"

"Nope."

Fox laughed and opened one eye to look at Kimiko. "That's because no ones crazy enough to risk pissing the Tyrant off."

"What's that suppose ta mean? You trying ta say I'm antisocial or something?" Kaname glared at Fox. "I'll have you know I'm a very fun person ta have on a date. I'm like a delicate flower blossoming in the gentle breeze."

"More like a powder keg roasting over an open flame," Fox retorted. "And you have a temper."

"I do not have a temper!" Kaname jumped to her feet, grabbed him by the back of his head and bounced his face off of the table before sitting down.

A wave of pain shot through his head as Fox held his hand over his nose. "That hurt you know."

"Serves you right for being a smart ass." Kaname crossed her arms then looked back to Kimiko.

"You two seem to get along." Kimiko laughed.

"Yeah I guess. Fox is always tagging along with me." Kaname ate a French fry.

"More like being dragged along." Fox leaned back in his chair and returned his hands to the back of his head.

"Still I got to admit you guys are the nicest people to hold me hostage." Kimiko smiled.

"No reason we cant be civil while we wait for your friends." Kaname downed the rest of her food. "Just don't try ta escape again of I'll have Fox gas you."

"You know when my friends do get here I'll have to kick your butt," Kimiko added.

Kaname leaned forward and smiled. "I'll bet you five bucks that if your pal's managed to beat Kashim they'll get stomped by the rest of us."

"You're going to eat those words." Kimiko reached over and shook the girl's hand. "And afterwards you're gonna have to take me to the arcade with the latest Goo Zombies."

Before Kaname could respond, the front doors burst open and Raimundo stepped inside followed by the other monks and Kashim. "Where's Kimiko?"

"Right here." Kimiko waved. "What took you so long?"

"We have come to save you and Challenge the Seven Guns." Omi stepped forward with Kashim."

The room suddenly burst into a fit of laughter as the patrons turned to look at the monk. "These guys wanna fight the Seven?" one person whispered.

"If you're looking for another beating then I'll be more than happy to give you one." Kurtz stepped out from the back arcade followed by Fred.

"Why are you with them Kashim?" Fred asked.

"I was defeated and am now their prisoner."

"What do you want?" Ada stepped over to the edge of the balcony.

"We would like to exchange Kashim for Kimiko and negotiate a cessation of hostilities amid our two factions," Omi answered.

Fox chuckled and open an eye to look over at Omi. "There was an awful lot big words in that sentence and we're not but humble students."

"We want you to release Kimiko and leave us alone." Raimundo glared over at Fox.

"We're rather disinclined to acquiesce the afore mentioned request." Fox smiled at the confused look on Omi's face. "Means no."

"Our primary objective is to acquire the Shen Gong Wu but since you are here we might as well take the opportunity to capture you," Ada stated in her usual cold demeanor.

"I can't wait to beat these guys." Kurtz cracked his knuckles and started forward.

"Please, if you must fight please take it outside. I do not want any damage caused in this establishment." Ada gestured to the door.

Raimundo and the monks glanced at each other then after a few words from Kashim, slowly backed their way towards the door. Kurtz and Fred followed them just as the crowd of students began to cheer and started shouting the seven word chant that had become popular during their battles against other schools. "Gung ho, gung ho, gung ho Guns!"

"You guys sure are popular." Kimiko looked over at Kaname.

"We are the toughest club in our school," Kaname stated. From the sound of the cheering, Fox figured that the fight had started.

"I can't tell who's winning." Kimiko strained to catch a glance through the front window but the crowd blocked her view.

Fox closed his eyes again and leaned back. "Your buddies are."

"How can you tell?" Kimiko asked.

"Hey, you guys are blocking our view, move!" Kaname threw a ketchup bottle at one of the students, hitting him on the head. The crowd quickly moved to another window allowing the girls a better view.

"Yes," Kimiko cheered, conforming what Fox had said. Clay being the faster was avoiding Kurtz's attacks then countering with his element. Raimundo and Omi had been caught off guard by Fred's attack earlier, but now that they had some idea of how she fought they were using their speed to flank her and keep her on the defensive.

"If things keep up like this then Kimiko may win your bet," Fox mused.

"Be quiet." Kaname slapped him on the stomach.

"Kaname," Ada called down from the balcony. "Please go and assist Kurtz and Fred. It would best if we ended this quickly so we don't interrupt any of the neighboring business."

"Why can't Kashim just go and help, or Fox?"

Kashim stepped over towards the balcony. "I will gladly go to battle those formidable warriors if that is your wish."

"Thank you, but you have just fought with them and been defeated so we will allow you to rest." Ada then looked back towards Kaname.

"Oh alright I'll take care of them, but I'm not responsible for any property damage okay?" Kaname reluctantly stood up and walked over to the door. "Sorry Kim but you're gonna lose that bet now, and I'll try ta go easy on your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Let's go get a better look." Fox popped up to his feet and walked over to the window followed by Kimiko.

"Now we got another one?" Raimundo turned to face the blue haired girl. "So let me guess, you're the One Hundredth Gun, the Great Blue Babe."

"Brain, Brash, you two can sit this out." Kaname glanced at each of them.

"If anyone is gonna get to smash these guys it should be me," Kurtz protested but an angry glare from Kaname cut him off. Fred walked over to Kurtz and pulled him to the sidewalk.

"Look's like we got ourselves a big fish here." Clay adjusted his hat.

"Get ready ta face the Second Gun of Jindai High. The Tyrant, Kaname Braddock." She sprinted forward; catching Raimundo by surprise and hit him with a clothesline with enough force flip him over. Before he could hit the ground, she grabbed him by the ankle and flung him into the side of a parked car, denting the door. She quickly punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and subsequently tossed him over to Fred. "Hold on to that for me."

"Got it." Fred used one of her tentacles to wrap around Raimundo and hold him over head. "Don't bother to struggle or I'll pump enough voltage into you to light a Christmas tree."

Kaname smirked as she moved towards Omi and threw a string of punches at the smaller monk. Fox couldn't help but smile as he watched Omi bend or twist to avoid the barrage. Finding an opening in her loutish attacks, Omi caught her with a swift kick to the jaw, followed by a shot to her ribs and a well placed uppercut. Her smile faded as she staggered back while Omi took up an attack position.

"Just don' feel right hittin' a girl." Clay rushed at Kaname and hit her with a right hook then went for a left but she blocked the blow and quickly head butted him, causing him to stumble back to Omi. "Gal's stronger than she looks."

"No matter the hardness in her head, she is just a girl and can not match our strength." Omi stood in an attack position.

"Really shouldn't have said that." Fox winced, imagining the look of fury that must have washed over Kaname's face.

"Just a girl? What 'cause I'm a girl that means I can't hold my own with the boys? I'll show you how much strength a girl has!" Kaname stomped over to a street light and easily yanked it out of the ground.

Clay took a step back. "I think you made her mad."

"I'll show you mad!" Kaname swung the light downward, forcing Clay and Omi to leap to the sides and smashed the top of another parked car. Turning towards Omi, she growled as she swung towards his head. Catching Omi just as he landed, the attack sent Omi crashing into a brick wall of an arcade. Just as he slumped to the ground, Fred stretched another tentacle over and grabbed him.

"Let them go." Kimiko started for the door but stopped as Fox held up a silver capsule.

"I'd hate to have to gas you again, especially since we were getting along so well." Fox smiled reassuringly. "Besides, things might work out for the best."

"How's that?" Kimiko looked at him with a confused look.

"You'll come to know the meaning soon enough." Fox gestured back to the window. "Let's just watch."

"Seismic Kick." Clay kicked a parked Honda at Kaname, but she used the light to bat it away. Dropping the light, she charged forward and threw a punch but Clay swayed under then hit her with an uppercut followed by a kick to the ribs. As she staggered back, Clay moved to press his attack and leaped for a flying kick, however Kaname managed to catch his foot. Grabbing a hold of his ankle, she spun and threw him into the waiting tentacle of Fred. "No fair double teaming on a guy."

"Sorry but I'm not a fair person." Kaname shrugged then headed back inside followed by a grumbling Kurtz and Fred. The crowd again burst into their familiar chant as Fred carried the three monks up to the balcony.

"I, I don't believe it," Kimiko said, dumbfounded.

"Every experience is a learning experience." Fox put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and motioned towards the spiral stairs. "Shall we?" Together they followed the remaining Guns up to the balcony. As the others sat down, Fox stepped over to the banister and pushed a small black button that activated the electronic sound barrier Fred had installed. With the chanting and yelling from downstairs quieted, Fox turned to face Gendo and Ada behind the desk.

"I'm glad you could join us." Gendo smiled as he dialed a number on the key pad built into his desk. An instant later the sound of a ringing phone came from the speakers.

"Are you okay?" Kimiko stepped over to Raimundo as Fred lowered the monks to the floor.

"I'll be fine; she just caught me by surprise." Raimundo smiled at her. "What about you?"

"I'm okay. These guys aren't the evil warlords I thought they were." Kimiko glanced at each of the Guns. "I kinda might have made a friend out of one of them."

"So we've been fighting these guys all day while you were making friends?"

"It's not like I was hanging around eating snacks and talking," Kimiko paused for a minute. "Well actually I was, but I was also waiting for the chance to learn who hired these guys to come after us."

Raimundo looked as if he were about to responded but stopped once the ringing stopped and a Romanian sounding voice picked up. "Yes?"

"This is Gendo Darcia. I have your monks as requested."

"Ah, I was wondering how you were fairing with them," the voice responded. "Unfortunately your services will no longer be needed."

"Come again?" Gendo leaned forward.

"I thank you for getting the monks away from their temple for me. Because of your efforts I was able to retrieve my real objective unhindered."

"And the money promised?"

"I have little reason to pay any more for a job I didn't need done. I'm sure a man of your reputation understands. It's just good business."

"Toying with us is not a wise course of action."

"I'll keep that in mind," the voice chuckled a second before the line went dead.

"That lousy double crossing cur." Kashim slammed his fist into his hand. "I knew that man had an ill look about him."

"We will have to teach this man the error of his ways." Gendo switched off the speakers. "But first we need to learn more about him."

"If he was at the monk's temple then I should have him on tape." Fred activated a holographic keyboard built into one of her bracelets and switched on the flat screen TV. A second later it began to display an aerial view of the temple and started to fast forward. "When we were looking for the monk earlier, I left an M.A.R.A over their temple. There." She played the tape at regular speed. The tape showed a helicopter landing in the courtyard and a man in a brown suite ordering a group of soldiers in grey around.

"I'll be a pig in a blanket." Clay stared at the screen.

"I never thought we'd see him again." Raimundo shook his head in disbelief.

"You know this man?" Gendo looked over to the monks.

"You could say that," Kimiko replied. "His name is Mikos Von Deprave. A couple of months ago he tried to steal our powers and take over the world."

Raimundo smirked and glanced over at Gendo. "Seeing as how he just stiffed you guys and he's stolen something from us, why not let us go so we can get a little pay back."

Gendo leaned forward and put his hands in front of his face. "I'll make you a deal. Tell me everything you know about this Von Deprave and I'll let you and your friends go."

"I'll do you one better. Five bucks says I know where he is right now. Why don't I lead your group of goof balls to him?"

"Agreed." Gendo nodded to Fred, who then released her grip on the monks and retracted her tentacles. "Fox, Kaname, why don't you accompany these young monks on their visit to Mikos Von Deprave and deliver a message for me."

"No problem." Kaname rose off the couch and walked over to Fox.

"What about Omi?" Raimundo asked. "He's still out cold from the shot with the light."

"You may leave him here if you wish," Ada said politely.

"I don't know. We just got Kimiko back." Raimundo glanced at Ada then at Kimiko.

"I give you my solemn vow that no harm shall befall your friend while he is in our charge." Kashim looked Raimundo in the eye.

Clay turned to face Raimundo. "I'll stay here an' keep an eye on the little fella then catch up with you later."

"If that's settled then let's go find this guy and beat the holy snot out of him." Kaname grabbed Fox by the collar and dragged him downstairs followed by Raimundo and Kimiko.

(-)

A cool breeze blew through the sky as the sun began its decent into the calm ocean. Following the shoreline, Dojo flew high over the docked boats to avoid being seen. "You sure this is the right place?"

"Yeah. Up ahead is the same dock the Deprave's used the last time they were in town." Raimundo nodded. He glanced over his shoulder for a moment to observe the two high school students sitting on Dojo's tail.

"Relax Rai." Kimiko looked back towards him.

"Two hours ago we were fighting these guys and now their helping us?" Raimundo turned back to face Kimiko. "You sure we can trust them?"

"Well, it's not like I trust them completely, but I don't really get that evil vibe like I do from Chase or Hannibal." Kimiko smiled reassuringly then turned to face forward. "Looks like you were right."

Raimundo peered down at the approaching pier and smirked. Men in familiar grey suits rushed from the large warehouse to a cargo helicopter loading crates. As Dojo circled around, Raimundo spotted a second smaller helicopter sitting on the left side of the building and Mikos walking towards the warehouse. Finding a large stack of crates, Dojo landed behind them and quickly shrunk while everyone hopped off of him.

"What's this guy after anyway?" Kaname asked.

"Beats me." Raimundo peaked around the side of the boxes at the cargo helicopter. "Whatever he stole from the temple is probably on the helicopter."

"We'd better hurry. I think they're starting to finish loading the crates." Kimiko glanced over the copter then stepped back. "Where's Fox?"

A sense of apprehension crept through Raimundo as he spun around to face the two girls but Fox was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd he go?"

Kaname glimpsed over her shoulder for a second then shrugged. "He does this from time to time. He'll pop up eventually."

"That inspires confidence." Raimundo rolled his eyes then turned back to the helicopter. "Let's just deal with these guys." He focused his chi into his right hand and subsequently thrust his palm into the crates creating a gust that send the boxes flying across the pier and into the men near the helicopter. Caught by surprise, most of the men were knocked out, however a few managed to avoid getting hit.

Kimiko sprinted over to the three men and hurled two fireballs, catching two on the chest, and side kicked the last one. "That was easy enough."

Raimundo started towards Kimiko but stopped as a large group of men poured out of the warehouse armed with stun batons. "You were saying?"

The group of men rapidly formed a semi circle around the three warriors. One of the goons stepped forward and said, "Surrender now and we'll go easy on you brats."

"I got a better idea." Kaname slowly started to walk forward but as she did, she pulled two fingerless black gloves out of her pocket and slid them on. "Why don't you surrender and bring your boss out here so I can teach him not to toy with the Seven Guns."

(-)

The warehouse shook violently as a howling wind suddenly blew over the pier. The sound of electrified batons managed to penetrate the worn walls while flames danced near windows and loud crashes echoed through the second floor of the warehouse. Mikos smiled as he strolled through the corridor flanked by two men armed with laser riffles. Grateful that he had brought a full contingent of soldiers, he looked down at the scroll he carried in his hand satisfied that the loss of his men and the money spent to keep the monks busy was well worth it.

The lights began to flicker as Mikos rounded a corner and started down a flight of stairs that would take him to his helicopter tucked away on the side of the building. An explosion rocked the building and caused the lights to flicker off. Just as the lights cut back on, Mikos saw two yellow capsules fly passed either side of his head. Shocked, he turned around in time see the pellets hit his two guards on the face and release a cloud of yellow smoke. Mikos quickly backed away from them as they coughed and fell over the railing to the ground. Turning to hurry down the stairs he spotted a young man with his hands in his sleeves, waiting for him. "You're one of the Seven Guns I presume."

"The Third Gun, the Fox Jack Flaherty."

"It appears as if I underestimated you." Mikos hastily collected himself and stepped down to meet him.

"The boss is pretty pissed that you didn't pay us."

"And you have come to exact revenge in his name." Mikos smiled, trying to hide his nervousness.

"I'll let the others deal with that. I'm more interested in why you went through the trouble." Fox grinned, then suddenly snatched the scroll from his hand and rolled it open. After reading it for a few minutes he glared up at Mikos. "You do know what this is, don't you?"

"A chronicle of the Fairfolk." Mikos looked Fox in the eye and slowly reached behind his back for his hidden pistol. "One of the last remaining chronicles."

"They were burnt for a reason; and if you pull that weapon I'll be forced to remove your arm." Fox glared at him. "What could you possibly want with the Fairfolk?"

"They are rumored to have great power." Mikos glanced around trying to find a way to escape. "A power that I intend to make my own."

"You're kidding right?" Fox burst into laughter. "You want to steal their powers with this? This is just a bedtime story. A mid summers night dream dreamt up by an irreverent monk fifteen hundred years ago."

Mikos looked at Fox, more curious than angry. "What do you know about the Fairfolk?"

"Enough to see your future." Fox again laughed and rolled up the scroll. He then tossed it back to Mikos, who quickly caught it. "Tell you what; I'm going to let you go because I'm curious to see what will happen."

"And why would you come this far just to let me go?" Mikos narrowed his eyes suspiciously and slowly started to inch his way to the door.

"I told you, I'm curious. Besides, the Guns aren't only after money. We also love a challenge, and at the very least you should prove to be entertaining."

"I'm glad to be of service but if we're done here, I'll be on my way." Mikos turned and hurried over to the door that led to his helicopter.

(-)

Ducking under a baton aimed at her head, Kimiko unloaded two swift punches into the man's gut then hit him with a jumping heelkick. The man fell to the ground but was instantly replaced by two more who charged forward. Kimiko jumped back, sensing Raimundo and ducked, allowing him to ride a gust of wind over her, in addition to kneeing the first guy on the nose. As the man staggered back, Raimundo extended his leg, kicking him harshly on the jaw. The guy fell to the ground just as Raimundo landed in a low crouch. Using Raimundo as a bar, Kimiko swung around him and let her chi flow into her heels. Flames engulfed her heels as she slammed them into the second man's face and sent him crashing into another trio of goons.

Kimiko smiled at Raimundo as she glanced around expecting to find another wave of men rushing towards them. The sound of propellers caused her to look up to find Mikos flying away in the second helicopter. "He's getting away."

"Not for long." Raimundo started to summon another burst of wind when a hail of laser fire forced him and Kimiko to leap out of the way. As Kimiko landed, she saw Kaname grab the guy in front of her and hurl him at the group firing and them. Just as the man collided with his compatriots, Kaname sprinted over to them and drilled the first guy with a ruthless right hook that sent him flying. She then yanked the riffle out of another chaps' hands and used it to club him over the head, breaking it in the process.

Turning to the last two men, Kaname smiled maliciously while he tried to aim his weapon but she smacked it away followed by a kick to his ribs. As the man doubled over, she grabbed him by the belt, spun him up to her shoulders, and powerbombed him before tossing him aside like a broken doll.

"Everybody pull out," a man inside the cargo helicopter shouted as he started the engine. Kimiko smiled as the few remaining men pilled into the transport. The helicopter quickly took off, barely allowing the last guy to climb aboard.

"You'd better run." Kaname picked up two batons off of the ground and hurled one at the copter as it flew into the distance.

"She's a little scary." Raimundo glanced over at Kimiko.

"Tell me about it ." Kimiko looked over and saw Fox sitting on a crate by the warehouse. He smirked and quickly stepped over to them. "How do you think she got the nickname _the_ _Tyrant?_"

"I am not a tyrant!" Kaname hit Fox over the head with the second baton. "And where were you? Didn't I tell you ta stop sneaking off ta do that mystery man crap?"

"Sorry, won't happen again." Fox shrugged and tucked his hands back into his sleeves.

Kaname crossed her arms and looked away from him. "You always say that but whenever there's a fight you try ta find some reason ta get out of it."

"At least everything kinda worked out." Kimiko smiled.

"How's that?" Raimundo looked at her. "Mikos got away."

"True, but at least now we know he's still alive and gunning for us." Kimiko turned towards the warehouse and sprayed a stream of fire onto the roof. "And he won't be using this place as a hideout anymore."

"She's right ya know." Kaname tossed the baton into the flames. "Thanks to him, we all share a common enemy. Heck, we could even become friends. I know; we could go down to the fashion district and shop till dawn."

"That's what I wanna to do, go shopping with _two_ crazy girls," Raimundo mumbled.

"What was that?" Kimiko and Kaname turned to him at the same time with an angry twitch in their eyes.

Fox quickly stepped over and nudged Raimundo out of the way. "He just meant that we're all glad everything worked out."

Kimiko looked over at Fox for moment, remembering his earlier comment. "You knew this was going to happen?"

"No I didn't." Fox backed towards Kaname. "I'm sure it's a coincidence that things worked out in your favor, and mine."

"Yours?" Raimundo raised an eyebrow at Fox.

"Every experience is a learning experience. By fighting each other today we learned what the other is capable of."

"You're not planning another one of your schemes are?" Kaname asked. "'Cause I'm not in the mood for your spy games."

Kimiko looked towards Fox. "Why did you want to test us then?"

"You'll come to know the reason soon enough." Fox laughed and looked at the fire. "Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but someday soon."

"In the mean time, how about we get back to the city and grab Omi and Clay," Raimundo suggested. "Hey Dojo, where are you hiding this time?"

"I wasn't hiding; I was just waiting for the right time to strike." Dojo slithered out from behind a smashed crate and elongated.

"Sure you were." Kimiko followed Raimundo and the others onto Dojo. While flying back towards the city, Kimiko smiled and looked towards the dark ocean. Despite the kidnapping and mortal peril she had been in, she found that she had enjoyed the last two days. _Today wasn't too bad. Let's just hope tomorrow will be as nice._


End file.
